All I Really Need to Know About Engineering, I Learned From Star Trek

Rather than backing down when faced with the unknown, engineers must be willing to take on the challenge of revealing the things that are temporarily hidden, and understanding the things that are temporarily not understood. A good engineering education provides us with the principles to make sound decisions. Testing, analysis, and simulation provide us with the tools to fill in the blanks in our knowledge.

Logic is necessary, but not sufficientThe character Spock comes from a planet where logic is revered above all else. His cool and rational approach to problems makes him a popular character among engineers. Yet, in many episodes, Spock finds that this approach is not sufficient to solve certain problems. He needs to consider the emotional, human element of the situation in order to arrive at a successful solution.

Similarly, in engineering, you will find that the problems you are called on to solve are not just mechanical or electrical in nature. They are human problems. In order to solve these problems, you need to understand not only how forces balance in a structure or how electrons flow in a circuit, but how organizations function, how people make decisions, and how individuals act and interact with one another. This doesn’t excuse you in the slightest from having to master the technical details. An engineer whose technical understanding is unsurpassed may still be unsuccessful if he or she doesn’t also learn to master the human element.

Don't believe in the no-win scenario
In the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, we learn about the Kobiyashi Maru, a test that all Starfleet cadets are required to take. This test presents cadets with an unwinnable scenario, in order to assess their psychological response to failure. We also learn that Kirk’s response to this scenario was to reprogram the test so that it was possible to win.

Like Kirk, when faced with an impossible task, good engineers don’t give up. Instead, they change the conditions until the task becomes possible. This attitude is what has enabled humanity to build tall buildings, to fly, and to go to the moon. Hopefully, one day, this attitude will allow us to travel between the stars.

Aye, but the list of those 'scientifically proven impossible' things that ultimately because possible seems to grow daily. We must not accept as 'fact' those things that seem extremely unlikely today. If we can't dream it, we surely will never do it. Excellent article!

"Cap'n, you cannot defy the laws of physics." And yet they seemed to have 'warp' travel, gravimetric plating, photon torpedoes, and replicators (though I think we saw some 3D printed food some where in Design News).

And as mentioned before, transparent aluminum seemingly developed with a few keystrokes into a Mac computer. Then we have the crew assembling large panels of this stuff in the cargo hold of a Kligon Bird of Prey. The scale-up was of record proportions!!!

We all had a good laugh when Scotty 'spoke' into the mouse --- but then also laughed when he simply typed the algorithm for transparent aluminum into the keyboard of a Macintosh and yielded a dynamically rotating molecular 3D image after about 15 seconds of input. Loved it!

"Episode IV, The Voyage Home" still ranks as one of favorite all-time movies. "Well, Double-dumb-ass on you !! "

Battar – agreed – you'll notice I did not specifically mention the 'Transporter' – ( altho' I DO concede that I did say "all" the technologies). So, your correction is accepted.

My point, however, covers literally dozens of lesser-noticed things, like the Bluetooth headset sticking out of Lt. Uhuru's ear on every episode. Or, the automatic presence-sensing sliding doors. Or, the hand-held scanner units. Oh, and here's a good one; Scotty taking a small rectangular handheld prism, and inserting it into the main computer console, from which spews gigabytes of reference data -- the pre-cursor to today's USB thumb-drive. All of these things were mere fantasy visions in 1966, and are commonplace in 2013.

I remember watching reruns of Star Trek in the Engineering Lounge while in college and hearing the naysayers ridicule the technology depicted as they walked by. They were descendants of the Flat Earth Society; If God Meant us to Fly, He'd have given us wings religion; and the Can't Travel Faster than the Speed of Sound club. I know Star Trek inspired me and many, many other engineers. As for the engineer naysayers they moved on to management positions with the bean counters where they can do the most harm.

When I got my flip-phone, I thought the person that designed it was definitely a Trekie.

I recall that it wasn't that Scotty said something was impossible and then did it, rather than he told Kirk it would take much longer than what Kirk then told him he had time do to it - and then did it.

This was exemplified in the movie "Generations" where Scotty told Jordy (maybe not the exact verbiage) "My God man, you didn't tell him what time it would really take, did you?"

A running gag in one of my old assignments was to deplore the lack of "transparent aluminum" whenever we had a materials problem. This fantastic 23rd century material was referenced in the movie, Star Trek IV and at least brought a grin to the face of our metallurgists whenever it was brought up (even by our chief engineer, one time :O).

Sadly, in our timeline, the guy at the plant in the Bay Area must have been out of the office when Scotty and Bones popped by? We've been waiting for this product to show up since the late 20th century when it was (sort of) invented. Scotty even got an old Mac to do the work for him (once he quit talking into the mouse).

We can't always expect a time-travelling starship chief engineer to show up with a game-changing new material, but I think we can all agree the future holds the promise of better materials. As engineers and designers, we're wise to keep our eyes open to new materials. I learned this from Star Trek.

Industrial workplaces are governed by OSHA rules, but this isn’t to say that rules are always followed. While injuries happen on production floors for a variety of reasons, of the top 10 OSHA rules that are most often ignored in industrial settings, two directly involve machine design: lockout/tagout procedures (LO/TO) and machine guarding.

Load dump occurs when a discharged battery is disconnected while the alternator is generating current and other loads remain on the alternator circuit. If left alone, the electrical spikes and transients will be transmitted along the power line, leading to malfunctions in individual electronics/sensors or permanent damage to the vehicle’s electronic system. Bottom line: An uncontrolled load dump threatens the overall safety and reliability of the vehicle.

While many larger companies are still reluctant to rely on wireless networks to transmit important information in industrial settings, there is an increasing acceptance rate of the newer, more robust wireless options that are now available.

To those who have not stepped into additive manufacturing, get involved as soon as possible. This is for the benefit of your company. When the new innovations come out, you want to be ready to take advantage of them immediately, and that takes knowledge.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.